Organisations in the retail sector have their work cut out. They have to put a smile on the customer’s face: Apart from the tie, the sales force at the counter has to wear their amiability, courtesy and smile right. And the organisation has to also make sure its employees do not lose their smile the moment the customer traipses out of the store.
In the seventh edition of “India’s Best Workplaces in Retail”, Retailers Association of India (RAI) and Great Place To Work India assessed 42 organisations in the retail sector for a variety of such factors that contribute to a great work environment. The organisations that finished in the top ten, are (in alphabetical order): Barbeque-Nation Hospitality Limited; Celio Future Fashion Private Ltd; Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt. Ltd; Infiniti Retail Limited; Lifestyle International Pvt Ltd; Marks and Spencer Reliance India Pvt Ltd; Max Hypermarkets India Private Limited; Reliance Retail Limited; Shoppers Stop Ltd; and Titan Company Ltd. In the e-commerce retail category Bigbasket; Flipkart Internet Private Limited and REA India Pte. Ltd were honoured.
Among the best practices by the companies the report touched upon was how Flipkart Internet promotes innovation and collaboration among employees, under what it calls ‘Project 1K’. This project encourages employees to execute self-initialised ideas that have the potential to impact customers and the company. Similarly, Marks and Spencer has a programme aimed at raising high-potential managers for larger roles by exposing them to alternative perspectives and processes. The programme aims to identify potential, build self-awareness and develop key skills through transformational experiences.
According to the report, retail is outshining every other industry across all workplace culture aspects. Leaders have been able to uphold employee sentiment for the last four years at 88%.
